The first 100 days of US President Donald Trump: a timeline

The first 100 days of the Trump era have been marked by frenetic energy expended by the administration to little tangible effect. By Saturday April 29 - 100 days into his term - he is expected to have signed 30 executive orders, more than any other president since World War II, along with 24 memorandums and 20 proclamations.

But he has failed to pass legislation to abolish Obamacare, or any other significant legislation.

He has presided over a staff that is locked in a very public ideological war with itself. He has launched missiles at Syria, reversed policy on China and NATO, shifted gears in his relationship with Russia and now appears to be stoking an unlikely trade war with Canada.

And the world has watched on, locked in partisan horror or celebration, unified only by fascination.

President-elect Donald Trump arrives at his inauguration on January 20.Credit:New York Times

A furious White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, makes an unscheduled first appearance in the White House briefing room and berates journalists for what he claims are their falsehoods. "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period," he says. Around 1.8 million people attended Barack Obama's first inauguration.

During a speech at CIA headquarters in front of a wall dedicated to those who died in service to the agency, Trump repeats at length false claims about the size of his inauguration crowds.

29 January The Yakla commando raid against Al-Qaeda in Yemen is launched, leading to the death of one American and a number of civilian casualties. In the coming weeks, the Trump administration goes back and forth between hailing the raid as a great success and blaming its failures on former president Obama, who did not authorise it.

15 February Andrew Puzder, Trump's choice to be Secretary of Commerce, withdraws his nomination under pressure of scandals involving employment of an illegal immigrant.

Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe refuses a secret request from White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to publicly dispute reports that Trump associates had been in regular contact with Russian agents.

16 February

Donald Trump's 75-minute press conference.Credit:Bloomberg

Trump holds a 75-minute long press conference in which he attacks the media, denies any ties to Russia while accusing Hillary Clinton of having them, and asks an African-American reporter to arrange a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus. The presser is widely regarded as bizarre.